


And Suddenly... Things Weren’t So Boring

by daringdaringdaring



Category: My Chemical Romance
Genre: Adventure, Attempt at Humor, Gen, Kidnapping, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-11
Updated: 2019-05-28
Packaged: 2019-11-15 15:41:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18076211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daringdaringdaring/pseuds/daringdaringdaring
Summary: Frank’s life was boring. It wasn’t that he didn’t want it to change... he just wasn’t thrilled about being forcibly taken from his home by a bunch of madmen on the run from... a bunch of other madmen. Actually, it was pretty terrifying.•If anyone recognizes this and is worried that I stole it, it’s because I posted it here before under DaringDaringDaring and then orphaned the account because I needed to leave to work on some really serious stuff in my personal life. But I want to continue the stories I had on that!





	1. Wait... What?

**Author's Note:**

> Looking back over this first chapter the writing isn’t the best... it does get better though.

Time.

Was.

 

Passing.

 

So.

 

Slowly.

Frank glared at the clock, slumping over the table he worked at. This shop was a prison, it was ridiculous. He didn’t know how much longer he could live like this.

Today had been especially trying. Mr. Decé had come in and wanted his watch repaired, which would have been fine, nothing Frank wasn’t used to, after all. Until he saw the watch, that was. It was an ancient watch that had been crushed by a carriage in the streets. He had dumped it in front of Frank on the counter and Frank could only stare at all the muddy pieces sticking out in weird directions. There was no way he could fix that watch.

“What happened to it..?” Frank had asked.

“Got trampled by a horse.” Mr. Decé had responded shortly. He had a monotone sort of voice, very bland but very forceful.

“Uh... well, I’m afraid it doesn’t look like it’s salvageable, Sir. Would you like to try to find a new watch today? We’ve got a really nice selection.”

The glare he got made his eyes widen, and his spine shiver.

“This watch was my grandfathers,” he had been told bitingly. “Fix it, boy, or I will have something to say to your father.”

The watch was his grandfathers? Frank’s eyes had wondered up to the customers hair, which was mostly white. And then the deep lines on his face, which told his age. This was a really ancient watch. In tiny, crushed, muddy pieces.

Frank had gulped then, at the threat. His father was the one who owned the shop. Frank worked for him. And his father did not like him one bit, Frank definitely didn’t need to give him another reason to hate him.

“Yes, sir.”

Now Frank had been trying to fix this damn watch for four hours. Not even all of the pieces were there, though. And he had never even seen a watch like this. He was beginning to wonder if it was even worth it. He could handle his father being mad at him, but he just never wanted to see this watch ever again.

Actually, truth be told, he never wanted to see any watch ever again. But that was wishful thinking.

His father had been gone all day. He’d left that morning with a word or two about some business he had to take care of. Frank hadn’t really been paying that much attention at the time. He was left alone to tend for the shop most days. He wasn’t let out of the place much at all, really.

He was prone to illness. He was certain this was one of the reasons his father disliked him so. He was too weak for his liking, not manly enough. He was also short. Or as his father put it, he had a “petite woman’s height.”

Whatever.

He stared at the watch in front of him. The only visible progress he had made was that it was no longer muddy.

His hands would not move. If he had to work on this watch a moment longer he swore he would rip his own hair out of his scalp and stuff it in his eye sockets.

Frank let out a frustrated groan, but immediately went quiet when the door to the shop opened. His head snapped up to see two men entering the shop, out of breath and rugged, and then slamming the door shut behind them.

They turned around and for a moment, it was silent, the two of them staring at Frank while Frank stared right back at them.

The first one that he studied had the curliest, puffiest hair he had ever seen that wasn’t on a poodle. He was tall and well built. Or at least taller than Frank. Everyone was tall to him.

The next was slightly shorter. He had black hair, shoulder length, and an annoyed expression.

“We’re... closed.” Frank stated slowly, assessing the situation. They didn’t really look like robbers, but what did he know about the usual appearance of robbers? They just didn’t seem like robbers.

“Oddly enough, that’s not relevant.” the one with the black hair said, all in one breath, and stepped forward towards the table. “You’re going to give us someplace to hide, or I will not hesitate to use this.”

Frank jumped when he had the weapon shoved in his face, so close he practically had to cross his eyes to look at it. It took a moment for his mind to register what was happening, but when it did, his stomach sank and his skin began to prick and crawl with nerves.

“Um. That’s... okay, yeah, I’ll do that.” he said, cautiously standing up. “This way?” he questioned, pointing towards a back door.

“Hurry.” The man hissed.

He led them through the door, down a hall, and into his measly bedroom. Just as they walked in, though, he heard the door open again in the front and even more footfalls make their way in.

This time there was more of them. This time they were louder. This time there was shouting.

“We know you’re in here somewhere!” A voice called. “So show yourselves now!”

The man with the weapon, well, his hand was now shaking, but his aim at Frank’s head didn’t waver.

“Ray. In the wardrobe.” He whispered to the poodle man, apparently named Ray, who then began to climb in Franks wardrobe, probably getting dirt all over his clothes.

“And you.” He said, addressing Frank. “Pretend we aren’t here. And don’t be so pale. They’ll know. Just act normal.”

“Don’t be so-“ Frank began.

“Just go.”

Don’t be so pale, Frank thought to himself scornfully. Yeah, sure, let me just will a rosy complexion onto my face. Not like my life wasn’t just threatened or anything, good idea.

Frank walked out of the bedroom and headed back to the front of the shop, but then, he ran into a tree.

Well, no, it was a man, but it might as well have been a tree.

He looked up into a sharp face, and for the second time in the span of a few minutes, he got a weapon pointed directly at him.

“Where are they?” The man asked, actually pressing the weapon against Franks forehead, whereas the other man had only ever pointed, and not made actual contact.

“They’re in there.” Frank said quickly as he could get the words out, pointing to the room. “The one that looks like a poodle is in the wardrobe.”

Frank had no qualms giving them away. They couldn’t kill him for it if these men got to them first anyway.

The man took the gun away from his head and headed to the door, and three other men followed him, pushing past Frank roughly, nearly knocking him over. He didn’t let it phase him though. Balancing himself, he started tiptoeing quietly towards the front of the shop again, hoping to make a getaway out the front door and grab an officer.

But before he could even make it all the way down the hall, the man shouted. “Don’t let him get away!”

He broke into a run, but he was being hastily dragged back soon enough, cursing his short legs.

The man with the black hair sent him a death glare when he was pushed into the room. He had two weapons pointed at him, and his friend Ray had another two.

“Well, Way, what do you have to say for yourself?” The tree man questioned gloatingly.

“First of all.” The man now known as Way began. “You can’t call me ‘Way’ disdainfully like that. We have the same last name, idiot. You just want to sound cool anyway.”

“Shut up, Gerard.” The man muttered back at him, but Gerard only chuckled.

“Oh now that’s an intelligent response, Mikey.”

“Shoot him.” Mikey said, and Frank gasped.

He really didn’t want to witness a murder. He had already been shaking, but now he was at risk of crying.

But then, it happened. A blue laser shot from one of the mens weapons and Gerard was enveloped in a blue fuzzy aura, frozen.

“What...” Frank couldn’t help but utter. “What?!”


	2. Okay....

Frank’s cry of astonishment went ignored, as the man known as Mikey turned his attention to Ray.

“That really wasn’t necessary, Mikey...” Ray said, hands out in a gesture of peace. “We don’t want anyone to get hurt. There’s only two of us and dozens of you, just let us go and pretend we got away. We just want peace.”

“You’re a liar, you know that? Maybe you want peace, but you know Gerard wants nothing more than to bring us down. Don’t pretend you don’t.”

Frank.  
Was.  
Very confused.

And he was perfectly okay with staying oblivious if it meant safety, he just hoped this would be over soon. There was no reason for them to want to kill him yet, right? Was there? He just needed to stay silent and when they were done they would leave.

Except he knew their names. And about their freaky weapons, which they probably wouldn’t like. He couldn’t stop staring at Gerard, frozen in place and looking pale and rather sickly at this point and feel sicker himself by the moment.

“Mikey...” Ray continued, and Frank’s eyes snapped back to them. “Even if he does, you know The Professor is untouchable. This is pointless.”

What.  
Was.  
Going.  
On?

No, no, Frank didn’t want to know. He shifted his gaze to the man beside him, who had a hold on his arm. Stocky, with blonde shaggy hair. Rigid faced. Then to Mike, who had sharp features, sharp eyes, and sharp shoulders and elbows.

How was this even happening to him?

Mikey walked over to Gerard and grabbed his arm, blatantly ignoring what Ray had said. “Alright, come on, walk.” He muttered.

Gerard took a sluggish step forward and Frank watched with wide eyes. He hadn’t expected the man to be able to move. Then the man holding onto him spoke up, and he jumped, turning his head quickly to look at him again.

“Mikey, you can’t walk him out of here. That was a stupid thing to do. You know we can’t draw attention and if we walk into the streets like that you know we will.”

“I realize that, Bob, I’m not an idiot.”

“That’s questionable. You need to control your temper, you can’t just use these weapons like they’re some kind of toy. They are still in the experimental stage.”

“Shut up, Bob, I know what I’m doing.”

Bob grumbled under his breath and Frank just barely caught what he had said. Something about Mikey being a snarky skeleton man?

“So what are you doing then, Mikey?” Bob asked, louder, and Frank could tell he was frustrated because the grip on his arm got tighter.

Frank grimaced and his stomach lurched dangerously when Mikey’s eyes shot towards him with an acidic stare that sent an actuall chill across his skin.

“Okay.” Mikey said, not looking away. “Okay, what we do is this. Wait until it wears off, and threaten the kid. Gerard’s not gonna let an innocent get hurt, if we put the kid in the line of danger he’ll do whatever we say.”

Frank’s eyes widened and he opened his mouth, but closed it again. What was he supposed to say to that? How does one actually respond to having their life threatened?

He felt tears pricking at his eyes, but he really couldn’t tell what he was feeling. There was anger, there was fear, but there was also shock.

“Please don’t hurt me.” He said, without thinking.

Mikey glanced at him with annoyance and didn’t respond. Then he turned to Bob. “It’ll wear off in what, half an hour? Then we can get out of here.”

“Guys...” Ray spoke. “You’re really going to-?“

“Shut up, Ray!” Bob shouted right next to Frank’s ear, and Frank jumped, a few tears finally spilling over his face. He really, really didn’t like yelling.

Frank really, really didn’t like yelling. It always made him want to curl up and cry his eyes out. He so weak... he wasn’t supposed to be crying. He wasn’t supposed to actually be showing fear, he wasn’t a maiden. He used his free hand to wipe the tears away and then glared into space,

No more weakness, he decided.

That’s what his father always told him. That he was weak, and that men weren’t weak.

No.  
More.  
Weakness.

• • • • •

The half hour passed slowly, and Frank wondered if his father was going to be getting home and what would happen if he did get home while these men were still there.

But by the time the blue aura around Gerard faded and he could move properly again, Frank’s father still wasn’t back, so he never found out.

“Okay, Gerard, listen.” Mikey said, stalking over to Frank purposefully. “The kid is coming with us to the ships. If you cooperate I let him go there. If you don’t, he comes back with us to The Professor.”

Frank didn’t know what that meant, but he knew that it couldn’t be anything good. This mysterious “Professor” was obviously someone ominous.

“Okay, Michael. Fine, whatever, but if you go back on your word I will cause chaos for you. You let that kid go or I swear you’ll regret it.”

“You can’t do anything.”

“We’ll see about that.”

“Come on, let’s get out of here.”

Frank was prodded along with the rest of them, and he briefly wondered why he was even needed. Gerard and Ray were weaponless now and slightly outnumbered... he supposed he just added an extra risk if they were to try to get away.

They headed off down the street, and as they were walking, Frank looked over to Gerard.

He was intensely focused, staring straight ahead, strands of dark hair falling across his face, but when Frank looked at him, he immediately looked back, and then mouthed something.

Frank furrowed his eyebrows and tilted his head in confusion.

Whatever.

Eventually the group turned into an alley and stopped. It was a dead end.

“Okay. We’re here, kid, you can run off.” Gerard said, and he gestured for Bob to let go of Frank’s arm, finally.

Only, Bob didn’t. He held on tighter and looked to Mikey.

“That’s not gonna happen, Gee.” Mikey said, mouth twitching into a smirk.

Frank’s heart dropped.

“I won’t say anything.” He butted in. “Please just let me go, I really won’t ever say anything to anyone about this, I just want to go back home.” He rambled. “Please, just... please.”

“Let him go, Mikey.” Ray said, in a dark tone of voice.

“No.”

It was happening before Frank could register it. Somehow, Gerard had gotten hold of a weapon and in the blink of an eye he had an arm wrapped around Mikey’s throat and the weapon pressed hard against his head.

Ray wasn’t far behind him, practically tackling the other man, Bert, and wresting his weapon away.

Frank took the opportunity to jab Bob in the gut with his elbow and, thinking fast, took his weapon out of his belt. He didn’t actually do anything with it, just sort of held it uselessly, but it was nice to know that Bob at least didn’t have it.

“Things are going to go a bit differently than you planned.” Gerard hissed into Mikey’s ear with venom. “Ray, the kid, and myself will be taking these ships and you and your idiotic minions will be leaving.”

Mikey said nothing and just growled, a murderous glare across his features.

Gerard patted down Mikey’s pockets and drew out a pair of odd looking keys. When he pressed a button on them, two hovering ships suddenly came into view, and Frank’s mouth fell open.

Those ships had not been there a moment ago, he could’ve sworn by it. One moment they were in an empty alley, and then suddenly these odd aircrafts were there, hovering silently in mid air.

“Run along, Mikey.” Gerard said, finally letting go of him and lazily pointing his weapon in his general direction. “Get lost.”

Mikey backed away, pride wounded. Bob and Bert left with him.

“Okay, there’s that.” Ray said lightly. “You can go now, kid.” he said to Frank.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, not so fast.” Gerard said. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”

“I’m leaving.” Frank said, panicked, and starting backing out of the alley. “You can have your weird guns and floating ships, I’m going home, I’m getting out of here.” He said, frantically, and started backing away, eyes wide in fear.

But then Gerard pointed the gun at him.

“You’re coming with us.”

“What?! No.” he cried.

“It’s for your own good, trust me. You’re in danger now, but we can protect you.”

“I don’t care, I don’t care, I’m going home.”

“You’re really not.” Gerard responded, walking forward slowly. “Come on, use your head. We just want you to be safe.”

“I- I’m really in danger?” Frank asked, hesitantly looking up to meet Gerard’s serious gaze.

“Yes.”

There was a moment of tangible silence and Frank thought it over, but finally, he spoke.

“Okay.” He said softly.

“Okay?”

“I’m coming with you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to do some editing on this chapter but I decided to not... to just preserve it as it is for now... if it goes well and I finish the story I’ll go back and revise.


	3. G’night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thought now might be a good time to say that if you’re expecting frerard, this is not where you’ll find it. I know that’s what a lot of people read fanficion for... but it’s not why I write it..

Gerard had Frank climb in one of the small ships with him and Ray got in the other one. Frank pressed himself into the side of it, away from Gerard, and crossed his arms.

Gerard immediately set to messing with the controls, none of which Frank had any idea what were for or what they did.

He started to wonder if this was really the best option... Gerard could be lying to him. Gerard and Ray, they could be the ones he needed protection from, who’s to say they weren’t the danger? They were the first ones to threaten him, after all. Gerard had held him at gunpoint.

But then... he got a way better feeling about them then he did about Mikey, Bob, and Bert, and he liked to trust his intuition about people for the most part. He was usually right. How he could get a good feeling about someone who had only threatened him thus far in their acquaintanceship he wasn’t sure, he he did.

And hopefully Gerard had forgotten that he’d given their hiding spot away.

Frank cringed and gulped thinking about it. The truth was, he was blindly trusting these two. He’d never blindly trusted anything in his life.

What life? Frank thought to himself. What is life without some kind of substance? All I’ve done with my life is sit around that stuffy shop and do what my father says.

He realized that he didn’t care.

He.

Didn’t.

Care.

His life was so bland so far, and despite how completely terrifying this had been, did he really want to be stuck under his fathers thumb forever? He had no plans for his life. Who knows, maybe it would be a grand adventure.

Of course, that wasn’t very realistic...

Oh well.

“So, where are we going?” Frank asked. “Is there a plan?”

“Well there was.” Gerard replied, not even glancing at him. “Not a very stable one, admittadly.” He sighed. “The plan was to hide here until we lost them. They aren’t going to stop looking for us, though. Unless somehow they manage to gather some basic human decently.”

He spat the last three words and Frank flinched. “So... now there isn’t a plan?” He asked.

“We’re fugitives. The plan is run and hide alternately depending on what fits in the moment.”

“Oh... okay.”

Suddenly, the humming of the ship got louder and Frank’s eyes widened. Before he could ask another question, the ship starting moving. At first it was a slow rising, but then, it shot into the sky, and the wind pressed down on him with intensity. He let out a strangled scream that got swept away with it.

When they were so high above the city that the people looked like ants, they finally slowed again, and Frank was shaking. His hair was sticking out in weird directions, his eyes screwed shut tight. “You-“ he gasped out, “you could have, could have warned me, at least.”

“Well I would’ve, but...” Gerard trailed off.

“But, what?”

“That was revenge.” Gerard replied, flashing him a far too innocent grin.

“Revenge?” Frank questioned, finally getting his breath back.

“For giving our hiding place away. That wasn’t very nice.”

Frank stared at him in disbelief.

“Well you couldn’t really blame me.” He retorted.

“I couldn’t?” Gerard asked, raising an eyebrow.

“It made sense.” Frank said matter of factly.

“Do you always do what makes sense?”

“What does this have to do with-“

“Nothing. Just talking now.”

Frank opened his mouth, about to reply, but he closed it again. What was wrong with doing what makes sense? It made sense to go by things that make sense, why would that ever be the wrong thing to do?

He crossed his arms and turned away from the strange man he found himself traveling with. He couldn’t quite figure him out, and Frank prided himself on being able to figure people out.

And for the first time in his life, he couldn’t see miles ahead of him. It gave him a nauseas feeling. He could quite literally see miles below him, though. That also gave him a nauseas feeling.

“I’m flying.” He whispered, eyes going ridiculously wide.

“And you’re finally catching up.” Gerard muttered.

“Flying.”

Frank’s breath hitched.

This was real.

He was far above the ground and they could fall. They could plummet to the ground and it would be painful and they would die.

He gripped his seat, knuckles going white, and felt his throat closing in. He swore he could feel his toes going numb too. “We’re flying, we could die, we’re going to die, we’re going to die, we’re going to die.” He chanted.

“No, no, no, it’s safe- wait. What’s your name?”

“It’s- it’s Frank. But are you sure this is safe, cause it doesn’t feel safe, and I- I don’t really feel like dying, that doesn’t really sound very fun, and-“

“Frank! Frank, you’re okay, we’re fine. I’ve flown this thing before and I’m still here to fly it again, aren’t I? It will be okay.”

“But-“

“No. Safe.”

“But-“

“It’s safe.”

“Oh-okay.” Frank said shakily, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. He held it for a second, trying to relax his muscles, and then let it out slowly.

Gerard watched him out of the corner of his eye curiously. He couldn’t help but imagine what would happen to him if Mikey had succeeded in taking him to The Professor. Awful things.  
He had to protect him. He hadn’t been able to save anyone else when he and Ray had ran away, but he would not let another soul be taken, if he could help it.

After this, the two were silent. Frank looked back at Ray in his ship alone and sighed. Strangers were kind of scary.

Slowly, the sky darkened. From pale blue to a peachy orange to a dusty red, right into an elegant dark blue, infested with stars. It was the most beautiful sky Frank had seen, and he leaned his head back, staring at it sleepily.

“We’re landing soon.” Gerard said softly, glancing over at him slumping over sleepily.

“Oh. M’okay.”

The landing was much softer than the takeoff had been, and at that point, Frank was struggling to stay away. Gerard was tired too, but he was used to not getting much sleep.

They landed right outside a city, one very far from where Frank lived. There was a cluster of caves, and Gerard thought it would be a nice place to stay for the time being. He flew into the cave and landed and Ray followed right behind.

When he looked over, Frank was sitting up straight again. He was looking around the cave with curious, sleepy eyes.

“Where are we? Sleep?”

Gerard chuckled. “We’re somewhere, I’m not actually sure. But yes, sleep.”

When Frank climbed out of the ship, his legs were weak and wobbly. He groaned and sat down.

Gerard opened a hatch in the back of his ship and pulled out a few thin blankets and a couple ratty pillows. He draped one of the blankets over Franks head, who pulled it off right away and half heartedly flared up at him. Then Gerard handed him one of the pillows. “Sleep.” He said.

“G’night, Gerard.”

“Goodnight, Frank.”


	4. Doomed

Frank woke up with pain in his neck and shoulders from sleeping on the hard rock ground. His eyes were dry, and his head throbbed. Groggily, he sat up, pulling his little blanket around himself more and trying to peer around him. But it was too dark to really see anything. Yawning, he lowered himself back to the ground, laying his aching head on his arms.

Then, there was movement in the darkness. He heard it, and he flinched, but didn't move. There was no way of telling if it was a danger yet, he couldn't see. It kept moving. "Uh... Gerard?" He whispered.

"Huh? Oh, no, it's Ray. You okay?"

"Oh, uh, yeah... just have a headache."

Frank let out a sigh of relief and snuggled into his blanket. Well, as well as anyone can snuggle into anything when laying a rock ground. Frank wasn't used to sleeping on an uncomfortable surface. He hadn't grown up particularly rich, but certainly not poor, and he'd always had a bad to sleep on. He tried to make the best of it, however.

"You know, kid-"

"It's Frank."

"Okay, well... Frank." Ray began again. "I know you're confused. And this is probably really scary. But the truth is, we're all scared. I think Mikey might be the most scared of us all. This isn't... him. He was a good kid. This is..." Ray trailed off, but Frank knew what he was going to say.

"The Professor." He filled in, and wondered why Ray was telling him all of this. He supposed that sometimes it was easier to let things out when you couldn't see someone face to face. Maybe it tricked the brain into thinking there was less of a consequence.

Ray released a bleak little chuckle that ended up sounding more sad than anything.

"Yeah." He confirmed. "That bastard." He continued with venom. "I hope you never have to meet him. He's absolute scum, but he's a genius. I hate to break the news to you, but once you've gotten involved with The Professor, he owns you. It doesn't matter how minimal the contact made is. You can never get away. I think that's why Gerard is so set on keeping his eye on you. We doomed you the moment you caught sight of us. One way or another the Professor would find a way to get to you. Just like he's going to find a way to get to us."

Frank was silent as the words sunk in. Doomed? Was he truly doomed? He had accepted by now that this- whatever this was that he had gotten caught up in- was something much larger than he could comprehend. He was, at best, an unskilled mechanic. He knew little of science, and he knew even less of the world around him. He felt far too out of his depth and naive.

"Go back to sleep, Frank. I'm sorry if I woke you."

Frank never went back to sleep, and eventually the cave began to fill with soft light. He sat up, head still throbbing, and watched as more and more light seeped in. It was so slow that he barely noticed the transition from night to morning.

Ray and Gerard were both up with the sun. Gerard, after rummaging through a hatch in one of the ships, handed him a small can of beans, and offered a grim smile. “We don’t have much. But we can get more.”

“Thank you.” Frank said softly.

“Course.” Gerard nodded.

They all ate in silence. Frank wanted to ask what they did now, but he supposed that Gerard had answered that the day before. Right now, they were hiding. And they would hide and run alternately for the foreseeable future.

The mystery and uncertainty weren’t pleasant for Frank. He wasn’t used to it, and he wasn’t sure yet if he liked it.

Gerard watched Frank as he ate with furrowed brows. He had a nasty habbit of caring too much, and wanting to save everyone. He should’ve left the kid in that alley. He couldn’t really protect him, could he? What if he just put him in more danger?

The watch repair shop had looked empty. Mostly dark inside, and run down. That was why he had ran in. He really couldn’t risk making connections with people yet. But when he had seen Frank there, he had had to change his plan. And look where it had gotten him.

Frank had almost gotten taken to The Professor. He didn’t deserve that, he was innocent and naive. Very few people could manage to be evil enough to deserve something like that.

And a life on the run obviously didn’t suit the kid.

But Gerard had given him one, and he wasn’t sure if he could really ever forgive himself for it.

“Are you... staring at me?” Frank asked him tentatively.

“Sorry.” Gerard replied absently. “Thinking.”

“Oh... okay.”

“Feeling okay?”

“Yeah... yeah, I’m good.”

“Good.”

Gerard went back to the hatch in the ship and took out a worn notebook and a pencil. He flipped it open and began sketching, trying to lose thought.

He couldn’t stand his own mind sometimes. It was a chaotic place. He wished he could create peace. It was all he ever wanted.

But he was doomed to a life of chaos wasn’t he?

And he was doomed to give the same to anyone he touched.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay! That’s all the prewritten stuff from last year. Now let’s see if I can keep up with it.


	5. Shut Up,  Bob

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took so long cause I rationalized myself into a corner and then remembered that this story will never make logical sense so I might as well let it be ridiculous. Also, I'm sorry it's so short. Maybe soon I'll have the creative willpower to write more.

“So you failed.” The voice on the other end of the device muttered.

Mikey had been pacing back and forth from the moment he’d made contact with one of The Professor's higher ups, and now he added running his fingers through his hair and picking up and setting down random items around the room to his list of nervous habits.

"No, we're still on their trail, it's just a minor setback. You can count on us, really."

When Bob walked in, Mikey gestured emphatically for him to leave and shot him a glare, but instead he just shut the door behind him, crossed his arms, and leaned back against it with a glare of his own. Mikey grimaced as the man he was speaking to muttered "we'll see what the Professor has to say about that." and then abruptly hung up.

"You got something to say to me, Mikey?" Bob said, as soon as Mikey slammed down the device on the table.

"I have nothing to say to you but leave me be. I need to think."

"I was looking for a 'you were right', actually."

"Shut up, Bob."

"But I was right, Mikey. Your temper and your pride got us in trouble again. You need to get it under control."

Mikey clenched his fists and spun around to face Bob. "I have it under control!" He seethed.

"Obviously." Bob muttered under his breath.

"Well, what do you suggest, Bob?" Mikey spat, and started pacing all over again across the creaking wooden floodboards. "Do you have some kind of master plan? You think you're so smart." Mikey crossed his arms.

Bob could've laughed if he wasn't so angry. Mikey looked like a pouting teenager who didn't like his curfew. He took a deep breath. "We might be able to track the ships. If we can do that, we sneak up on them, no chase, no big fuss, and call in some of the Professor's more experienced people."

"We don't need help." Mikey muttered.

Bob raised an eyebrow. "That's what you said last time too."

A pause.

"Shut up, Bob."

•••••••

 

Frank couldn't understand how this Gerard was the same Gerard who had pointed his weapon at him and threatened him. Not to mention told him not to look so pale, as if he could control that, especially with his life in danger. He looked so very peaceful now, bent over his sketchbook with peircing focus. Frank was quite curious as to what he was drawing.

And then he was reminded that this was most definitely the same Gerard when he glanced up, noticed him watching, and shot a death glare his way. Frank's eyes widened and he looked away with a huff.

Ray had left the cave a few hours ago to scout out the town they'd landed near, and perhaps even find them an actual place to stay. Gerard didn't seem too concerned that he wasn't back yet, so Frank didn't let himself be either.

"You got a family?" Gerard asked, breaking the silence. His voice cut through the air sort of coldly. It wasn't mean or anything, it just wasn't... gentle.

"I have my dad, but he's never really liked me."

Gerard hummed in response, and then held his sketchbook out to look at his work from a different angle. "My dad never did either. Then... well, then he was murdered."

Frank's eyes widened. Gerard had said it so nonchalantly.

"I'm- I'm sorry." He whispered, but Gerard cut him off.

"Thank you." He said, but the way he said it made it sound more like a "shut up, now."

They fell into silence once again, and as a chill began to set in, Frank started to worry a little about Ray. He didn't want to speak up about it, because surely Gerard would be the one to know if there was a cause for concern. And just as he was finally about to bring himself to speak, Ray returned. Immediately it was obvoius that something was wrong. Frank had only known him for about a day and even he knew that something was wrong. Gerard stood up and faced him.

"What happened?" He asked, fast and clipped.

Ray waved him aside and went to sit against the cave wall. "We're being closed in on." "What? Already?" "I'm certain I was followed throughout the town, I just don't know what they're waiting for. They have us, so why don't they take us? This is ridiculous. Our escape was pretty much a suicide mission, the Professor absolutely has the resources to have us back by now." Gerard sat down again and Frank looked at him intently as he contemplated his next words. The Professor, whoever he was, sounded very dangerous. Frank didn't want to meet him. He was beginningtm to wonder if he really should've gone with Gerard and Ray. After all, what could the Professor really want with him? He was totally insignificant. 

"Maybe we need disguises." Gerard said. "And we definitely need to ditch any of the Professor's gadgets. Ships, weapons, everything."

"You're right. Now. We leave and we leave with nothing. There could be any number of things hidden in our clothes." They both stood, and Frank followed suit, looking between the two for instructions. Were they leaving naked?

"I'm bringing my book." Gerard said.

Ray hesitated. "I guess there's no harm in that..." he said.

Frank looked between the two for a moment once again. Then, in a small and hesitating voice he spoke up. "Where are we going to go?" He asked.

Ray and Gerard both turned to him. For a moment Frank wondered if they'd forgotten he was even there. Either way, it didn't seem like they had an answer to his question.

"Somewhere crowded." Gerard said. "Somewhere we can blend in, and somewhere the Professor's technology will have to stay hidden unless Mikey wants to risk his wrath by showing it to the world. 

"Let's join the travelling theatre." Ray said.

Gerard's eyebrows shot up and Frank tilted his head.

"The travelling theatre?" Gerard questioned. "That's a... very interesting idea, Ray."

"Think about it. If we become actors we'll always be disguised, we'll be moving from place to place, and we'll attract crowds. It's the perfect hiding place. I saw an advertisment for it in town."

He had some good points, but Frank kept quiet. It was a good idea, but it was scary. His father said that the theatre was an abomination. And the thought of going on stage in front of people and speaking, much less acting, was horrifying. It was his safety at stake, however, and if this was what Gerard and Ray felt was safest, then so be it.

Gerard turned to him. He felt a little nauseous when he saw the look on Frank's face. He'd been thinking all morning, and he'd decided he'd made a mistake in bringing Frank. He could very well have been safe if he had left him on that street, and now he had assured him a life of danger. He felt like a fool. It was too late now. Frank was a part of this. But Gerard didn't think thw guilt eating at his gut like a parasite would ever leave.

"Okay." He said. "That seems like our best option. Let's join the travelling theatre."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Constructive criticism is appreciated. I'm sleepy.


End file.
